Lesson No. 30: It’s Hard To Say I Am Sorry

I
didn’t purpose to be in the space that I find myself in – Founder &
CEO, Passionate Entrepreneur, EQ Fanatic and OWIT Nairobi President. God plucked me from the path that I had set
out for myself & set me on an alternative journey. At the start it all
appeared somewhat ‘accidental’ but I know now that it was no accident, rather
His design, His purpose for my life…

So now that I am here, these are my
confessions…the lessons I am learning about being a woman in business, building
an empire, one brick at a time…

“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.”

― Benjamin Franklin

Many find it hard to say “I’m sorry” to
customers, perhaps because they feel that an apology is an admission of
wrongdoing. And yet, all too often, “I’m
Sorry” is just what the customer needs to hear.

I love to tell the story of an experience I
had at a shop I used to frequent at a nearby mall. I needed to get my handbag
repaired so called into the cobblers.
They took down my details & gave me a job card & told me to
collect my bag the following Monday. On
Sunday, I happened to be nearby so I called on the cobbler – on the off chance
that my bag was ready a day early. I
handed over the job card & was asked to wait whilst they looked for my
bag. I quickly told the gentleman
manning the front desk that I was early but figured it was worth asking if my
bag was ready. He went round the back to
ask if my bag was ready. About five minutes
later, the shoemaker himself came out to speak to me.

“Madam,” he said, “Your bag is not ready. We went into town last week to look for the
replacement clasp & we could not find it in the right colour.”

The shoemaker
looked at me and I looked at him, waiting expectantly, certain my apology was
forthcoming.

He continued to
look at me, a look that seemed to say… and what?

“Let me make sure
I understand,” I said. “You took my
details when I left the bag. You have my
phone number & yet you didn’t call.”

“We have been
busy,” was the unapologetic response.
“And anyway, it’s not our fault we couldn’t find the clasp.”

Now I think I am a pretty reasonable
individual but at this point I was starting to get a little annoyed.

“I understand that
you weren’t able to find the replacement clasp.
That isn’t the issue here. The
issue is that you have my number & yet you failed to call. You could have saved me the inconvenience of
coming to the mall.”

Before the shoemaker could respond, the
manager, who had been quietly watching our exchange turned to me & said,

“Madam, I think
you are making a big deal over nothing…”

Suffice to say that was the straw that
broke the camel’s back – I proceeded to tell the manager & the shoemaker
exactly what I thought about their service…

Was I really making a big deal over
nothing? I think not. All I really wanted was an apology. At any point in the conversation, a simple “I’m
sorry” twinned with a solution to the problem would have turned things around
and won me over. I would have left the
store an advocate for their services, instead of the ever-so-vocal adversary
that I am!

According to Jeanne Bliss, how you
apologise is your humanity litmus test. I have learned that at some point my
business will suffer a failure that disappoints customers. How we react,
explain, remove the pain, and take accountability for our actions signals how we
think about customers, and the collective heart of our organization.

Grace and wisdom guide decisions of beloved
companies toward accepting responsibility and resolving the situation when the
chips are down—not accusations and skirting accountability. Repairing the
emotional connections well is a hallmark of companies we love. It makes us love
them even more.